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gawguy

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This has long confused me. Sometimes I've meant to say, "It wasn't particularly good." meaning it was okay, not great. But the reaction I received it seemed like I said, "It was lousy."

 

I've seen it translated both ways, as a negative expression meaning "not at all" and "not very."

 

Which one does it mean? Why was I misunderstood?

 

Lately I have a small injury that's keeping me from doing some things. When asked if I'm sabai dee mai? can I respond "Mai sabai tao rai." ? Meaning I'm okay but could be better. Or how should I put it?

 

Thanks,

GG

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A slang use that has been around for decades. It means "not very much". Thus "mai dee thao rai" means not very good!

 

I've never seen the expression in a textbook, but I hear it and use it fairly often. I wouldn't say 'mai sabai thao rai", which I have never heard. But if you complain about the heat, you will probably hear a Thai say "mai rawn thao rai" and shrug. Or if you ask someone if their new phone was expensive, you may hear "mai paeng thao rai". Spoken versus written Thai ...

 

Just tell people you are "mai koi sabai" ... not so well.

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A slang use that has been around for decades. It means "not very much". Thus "mai dee thao rai" means not very good!

 

I've never seen the expression in a textbook, but I hear it and use it fairly often. I wouldn't say 'mai sabai thao rai", which I have never heard. But if you complain about the heat, you will probably hear a Thai say "mai rawn thao rai" and shrug. Or if you ask someone if their new phone was expensive, you may hear "mai paeng thao rai". Spoken versus written Thai ...

 

Just tell people you are "mai koi sabai" ... not so well.

 

Thank you Mr Fm on this post and others. I have a lot of questions like this one because these days I do a lot of texting in Thai. It's a really good way to learn.

 

I appreciate that you pointed out that the expression is slang. I have no way of knowing when I'm using slang unless someone tells me directly. My contacts are all with Thai women, 90% from Issan. It's always good to know if something is slang.

 

Also, in replies to me, Thai spelling is much appreciated so that I can look words up in dictionary. I did manage to find "mai koi" ไม่ค่อย, but exact spelling saves a lot of time.

 

Thanks a million,

Gaw Guy

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also, the Lao (Isan) equivalent of เท่าไร used in this way is either ทอใด or ปานใด (บ่อดีปานใด etc.). you don't need to say this yourself (unless you want to!), as they all understand Thai, but you will likely hear it if you're hanging around Isan women and hearing them speak to each other...

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also, the Lao (Isan) equivalent of เท่าไร used in this way is either ทอใด or ปานใด (บ่อดีปานใด etc.). you don't need to say this yourself (unless you want to!), as they all understand Thai, but you will likely hear it if you're hanging around Isan women and hearing them speak to each other...

Interesting! I do have "Lao for Beginners" so I like to learn a little too. I love the sound of the language. (Also love the sound of Vietnamese.) Not enough time...

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Interesting! I do have "Lao for Beginners" so I like to learn a little too. I love the sound of the language. (Also love the sound of Vietnamese.) Not enough time...

 

I think Laos is more expressive then Thai - actually Flashy made a good point on why this is on a old thread of mine called 'moribund laos'. Thai was 'cleansed to some degree'. You can even mostly get away with talking Thai in Phnom penh too. But I love the sound of Khmer. I spent three months just intensively working on that language and I was enthralled by it. I always prefer to speak Laos / Isaan if I can get away with it - although I've got an extraordinary skill of being able to mimic, so I can talk in 'newsreader' Thai if the situation commands it. Not unlike some times when I speak English in received pronunciation, if I'm in America for instance - or go with vernacular Aussie and even ham it up crocodile dundee style. I see communication as a means to and end. It's not over complicated. It's neither deception either - if you want to be fluent, you have to change your whole attitude so these things.Anyhow, sorry to be so long-winded. Flashy is the expert - but let us mere mortals answer a question from time to time, just to encourage us! Just kidding - Flashy keep up the good work.

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